Prophets of Prophets of the Neo-Babylonian Periodthe Neo-Babylonian Period

© John Stevenson, 2010

The Weeping ProphetThe Weeping Prophet

Jeremiah 1:1-2Jeremiah 1:1-2The words of Jeremiah, the son The words of Jeremiah, the son

of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 22 to to whom the word of the LORD came in whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reignof his reign

Isaiah Jeremiah

Saw the Northern Kingdom of Israel taken into Captivity at the hands of Assyria

Saw the Southern Kingdom of Judah taken into Captivity at the hands of Babylon

Isaiah foretold of the judgments that would come in the future

Jeremiah explained the reasons for the judgments that Judah was experiencing

Looks primarily to the future Looks primarily to the present

Bold and fearless Gentle and compassionate

Was married to a prophetess and had children with prophetic names

Was commanded not to take a wife or have any children

Josiah’s Reforms

• Josiah was the last of the good kings of Judah

• A Copy of the Scriptures found in the Temple

• National Repentance

Jerusalem

Megiddo

PharaohNeco

(Josiah)

Armageddon: ASymbol for a greatand decisiveconflict

Josiah

Jehoahaz Eliakim(Jehoiakim)

Mattaniah(Zedekiah)

Jehoachin(Jeconiah)

Jerusalem

Carchemish

BabylonNebuchadnezzar

PharaohNeco

FirstDeportationto Babylon

Chapter 1

Prologue

Chapters 2-20Chapters

21-45Chapters

46-51Chapter

52

From Josiah to the first year of

Nebuchadnezzar

From Josiah’s

sons to the Captivity

Oracles to the

Nations

Epilogue

Judgment against Judah Nations

Call of Jeremiah

Fall of Jerusalem

Call of Jeremiah (1)Call of Jeremiah (1)

Prophecies of Judah & Jerusalem (2-35)Prophecies of Judah & Jerusalem (2-35)

Historical Historical NarrativeNarrative

Prior to the fall of Jerusalem (36-38)Prior to the fall of Jerusalem (36-38)

The fall of Jerusalem (39)The fall of Jerusalem (39)

After the fall of Jerusalem (40-45)After the fall of Jerusalem (40-45)

Prophecies of other nations (46-51)Prophecies of other nations (46-51)

Fall of Jerusalem (52)Fall of Jerusalem (52)

Jeremiah 1:4-5

Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

Jeremiah 1:6-8

Then I said, "Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth."

7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 1:9-10

9 Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

10 "See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To pluck up and to break down,

To destroy and to overthrow,

To build and to plant."

Jeremiah 5:1

Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,

And look now, and take note.

And seek in her open squares,

If you can find a man,

If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth,

Then I will pardon her.

Jeremiah 29:10

"For thus says the LORD,

'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon,

I will visit you and fulfill

My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

538 B.C.70 Years

Includes Inaugral andTerminus year

Return to land underCyrus & Feast of BoothsCelebrated at New Year

1st Deportation byNebuchadnezzar(Daniel taken toBabylon)

605 B.C.

70 YearsNot including Inaugral

or Terminus year586 B.C. 515 B.C.

Temple Destroyedat 3rd Deportation

TempleCompleted

597 B.C.

2nd Deportation(Ezekiel taken)

Jeremiah 32:6-7

And Jeremiah said, "The word of the

LORD came to me, saying, 7 'Behold,

Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is

coming to you, saying, "Buy for yourself

my field which is at Anathoth, for you have

the right of redemption to buy it."'

Jeremiah 31:31-32Jeremiah 31:31-32“Behold, days are coming,”

declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:33Jeremiah 31:33“But this is the covenant which I

will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:34Jeremiah 31:34And they shall not teach again,

each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Old Old CovenantCovenant

Let us go up to the house of the

Lord

New New CovenantCovenant

Go unto all the world and make disciples of the

nations

Jerusalem Church

The New Covenant is Better• Because it is an Internal Covenant: I will

put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it

• Because it in All-Inclusive: And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD

The New Covenant is Better• Because it Forgives Sins: For I will forgive

their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more (31:34).

• Because is does not become Obsolete.

Lessons from JeremiahLessons from Jeremiah

• The lesson of God’s Sovereignty.The lesson of God’s Sovereignty.

• The lesson of God’s Justice.The lesson of God’s Justice.

• The lesson of God’s Grace.The lesson of God’s Grace.

• The lesson of LeadershipThe lesson of Leadership

The Song of SorrowThe Song of Sorrow

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

3rd person plural (“they”)

1st person singular (“I”)

1st person plural (“we”)

Each verse begins with an acrostic

Each line begins with an acrostic

Each verse begins with an acrostic

No acrostic

Writer addresses himself to his readers Writer prays to God

LamentationsLamentations

Lamentations 3:40-42Lamentations 3:40-42Let us examine and probe our ways,

And let us return to the LORD.

We lift up our heart and hands

Toward God in heaven;

We have transgressed and rebelled, Thou hast not pardoned.

Lessons from LamentationsLessons from Lamentations

• God is Sovereign over the affairs of God is Sovereign over the affairs of

menmen

• Sin brings forth tragic consequencesSin brings forth tragic consequences

• There is hope in the darknessThere is hope in the darkness

The Prophet-PriestThe Prophet-Priest

25 - 32 33 - 48

• Ezekiel’s call (1-2)• Judgment (3-7)• Temple (8-11) • Judgment (12-14)• Pictures (15-19)• Judgment (20-23)• Pictures (24)

• Amon• Moab• Edom• Philistia• Tyre• Sidon• Egypt

• Watchman (33)

• Restoration (34-37)

• Gog & Magog (38-39)

• New Temple (40-48)

Oracles against Judah

Oracles against Nations

Oracles of Salvation

1 - 24

Amos

620 610 600 590 580 570 560

Josiah

Jehoahaz

Jeh

oiak

im

Jehoiachin

Zedekiah

Obadiah?

Jeremiah

Daniel

EzekielHabakkuk

Joel?Jerusalem & Temple Destroyed

Fall ofNineveh

Babylonian Captivity

Ezekiel’s Chariot VisionEzekiel’s Chariot Vision

• Something like glowing metal in Something like glowing metal in

the midst of the fire (1:4).the midst of the fire (1:4).

• Four living beingsFour living beings

• Wheels within wheelsWheels within wheels

1 Chronicles 28:181 Chronicles 28:18...the altar of incense refined

gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot, even the cherubim, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD

Daniel 7:9

I kept looking Until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire

Meaning of the VisionMeaning of the Vision

• God is the God over all life, whether wild animals or domesticated animals or birds of men

• The wheels are a picture of the mighty power of God.

And each one had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle (Ezekiel 10:14).

The Glory of the LordThe Glory of the Lord• Ezekiel sees the glory of the

presence of the Lord within His temple (8:4).

• The glory of God is seen at the doorway to the temple (9:3).

• It next leaves the doorway and moves out to the Eastern Gate (10:18)

The Glory of the LordThe Glory of the Lord• It moves completely out of the

city of Jerusalem: And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood over the mountain which is east of the city (Ezekiel 11:23).

25 - 32 33 - 48

• Ezekiel’s call (1-2)• Judgment (3-7)• Temple (8-11) • Judgment (12-14)• Pictures (15-19)• Judgment (20-23)• Pictures (24)

• Amon• Moab• Edom• Philistia• Tyre• Sidon• Egypt

• Watchman (33)

• Restoration (34-37)

• Gog & Magog (38-39)

• New Temple (40-48)

Oracles against Judah

Oracles against Nations

Oracles of Salvation

1 - 24

Ezekiel 26:1-3Ezekiel 26:1-3Now in the eleventh year, on the

first of the month, the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, because Tyre has said concern-ing Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’ 3 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.”

Ezekiel 26:4Ezekiel 26:4They will destroy the walls of Tyre

and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock.

Ezekiel 26:5Ezekiel 26:5“She will be a place for the

spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,” declares the Lord GOD, “and she will become spoil for the nations.”

Ezekiel 26:7-8Ezekiel 26:7-8For thus says the Lord GOD,

“Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry and a great army. 8 He will slay your daughters on the mainland with the sword; and he will make siege walls against you, cast up a ramp against you and raise up a large shield against you.”

Ezekiel 26:9-10Ezekiel 26:9-10The blow of his battering rams he

will direct against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 Because of the multitude of his horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of cavalry and wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached.

Ezekiel 26:12Ezekiel 26:12Also they will make a spoil of your

riches and a prey of your merchandise, break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water.

Tyre

Alexander the Great of Macedonia, 332 B.C.

• Seven month siege

• Fall of Tyre on July 29. 332 B.C.

Ezekiel 37Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel 37:1-2Ezekiel 37:1-2The hand of the LORD was upon

me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry.

Ezekiel 37:11-12Ezekiel 37:11-12Then He said to me, “Son of man,

these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.”

Ezekiel 37:13-14Ezekiel 37:13-14“Then you will know that I am the

LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. 14 I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it,” declares the LORD.

Ezekiel’s Vision John’s RevelationEzekiel’s Vision John’s Revelation

A Temple within the City The New Jerusalem

• Ezekiel is taken in this vision to a very high mountain (40:2)

• John is carried in the Spirit to a great and high mountain (21:10)

• A man uses a rod to measure the dimensions of the temple (40:5-ff)

• An angel measures the city with a rod (21:15-17)

• The entire temple area is a perfect square (42:15-20)

• The entire city is a perfect cube (21:16)

Ezekiel’s Vision John’s RevelationEzekiel’s Vision John’s Revelation

A Temple within the City The New Jerusalem

• The presence of the glory of the Lord enters the temple (43:3-4)

• No need of sun or moon because the Lord illumines His city (22:5)

• No foreigner is admitted into the temple (44:9)

• Nothing unclean and no unbeliever is allowed into the city (21:8, 27)

• A river of water flows out of the temple (47:1)

• A river of the water of life comes from the throne of God (22:1)

Ezekiel’s Vision John’s RevelationEzekiel’s Vision John’s Revelation

A Temple within the City The New Jerusalem

• There are a total of 12 gates around the city (48:30-34)

• There are 12 gates to the city (21:21)

• The name of the city shall be: “The Lord is there” (48:35).

• The throne of God shall be there (22:3)

Ezekiel 43:4-5Ezekiel 43:4-5 And the glory of the LORD

came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east. 5 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.